Client: Green Our Planet
Project Type: Google Grant Optimization · Business Design
Timeline: Time-bound grant period
Overview
Green Our Planet is a Las Vegas–based nonprofit transforming education through hands-on learning. Through school gardens, hydroponic labs, and STEM programs, they help students engage with nutrition, sustainability, and science in meaningful, real-world ways.
When Green Our Planet entered a grant-funded period tied to school participation, they faced a familiar nonprofit reality: a limited window of time to increase school enrollment and fulfill grant requirements.
They also had access to a powerful but underutilized resource, the Google Ad Grants program.
MBD partnered with Green Our Planet to design and activate an outreach system, aligning the grant with a clear enrollment goal, a defined audience, and an approaching deadline.
The Challenge
Meeting participation requirements within a fixed timeline.
Green Our Planet’s programs were proven, trusted, and already delivering impact. The challenge wasn’t credibility or demand; it was accelerated outreach.
They needed to:
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Reach more eligible schools quickly
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Clearly communicate a time-sensitive opportunity
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Drive sign-ups before the grant deadline
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Use available tools efficiently, without adding operational strain
At the same time, their Google Ad Grant had not yet been structured in a way that could reliably support this kind of focused, time-bound enrollment push.
Understanding the Google Ad Grant
A powerful tool, when used correctly.
The Google Ad Grant provides eligible nonprofits with up to $10,000 per month in in-kind Google Search advertising, allowing organizations to promote their mission, programs, and initiatives without traditional ad spend.
While the grant is generous, many nonprofits struggle to use it to its full potential due to:
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Complex setup and compliance requirements
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Strict keyword and performance rules
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Limited internal time or ad platform expertise
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Campaigns that generate clicks, but not meaningful outcomes
Without a clear strategy and structure, the grant often becomes underutilized or disconnected from real organizational goals.
Green Our Planet already had access to this resource, the opportunity was to activate it with intention.
The Business Design Approach
Designing the system before deploying the tool.
Rather than treating the Google Ad Grant as “free ads,” MBD approached the engagement through a Business Design lens:
What tools already exist → how should they work together → what outcome matters → how do we measure progress?
This led to the design of a unified outreach flow where the Google Grant, landing page, campaign targeting, and form intake functioned as one coordinated system purpose-built to support enrollment within a compressed timeline.
What We Designed & Activated
Landing Page as the Enrollment Hub
The landing page served as the central point of clarity and action.
It was designed to:
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Quickly explain the program and grant-driven timeline
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Reduce friction for busy school administrators and educators
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Focus attention on a single, clear enrollment action
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Support fast decision-making without pressure
Rather than a general informational page, it functioned as a focused enrollment engine.
Google Grant Activation & Campaign Structure
MBD activated and structured Green Our Planet’s Google Ad Grant to support the enrollment goal.
This included:
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Campaigns aligned with school and educator search intent
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Ad group structure designed around program participation and eligibility
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Messaging focused on clarity and relevance, not volume
The grant became a mission accelerator, not just a traffic source.
Targeting & Message Alignment
Campaign targeting focused on:
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School administrators and educators
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Regionally relevant audiences aligned with the grant scope
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Searches connected to curriculum, school programs, and STEM education
Each targeting decision was intentional, ensuring the Google Ad Grant nonprofit outreach reached schools that could realistically participate within the available timeframe.
Form Design & Structured Intake
The sign-up form was designed as a practical intake and qualification tool.
It enabled Green Our Planet to:
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Collect consistent, actionable information from schools
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Evaluate eligibility efficiently
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Create a clear pipeline of participating schools
Within the outreach window, 73 schools completed the form, providing structured submissions tied directly to the program.
Measuring Impact Against the Goal
Success was measured by program progress, not ad metrics.
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Submissions generated through the outreach system contributed to approximately 25% of the total participation goal required by the grant
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Not every school ultimately received funding, by design, but each submission supported responsible program allocation
This ensured outreach activity was directly connected to mission delivery.
Results
The designed Google Ad Grant nonprofit outreach system delivered meaningful outcomes under a tight deadline:
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Activation of an underused Google Ad Grant
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73 school sign-ups through a focused enrollment pathway
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Tangible progress toward fulfilling grant obligations
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A repeatable outreach framework for future initiatives
Most importantly, Green Our Planet was able to move quickly using tools they already had, without sacrificing clarity or control.
The Bigger Win
Turning available resources into measurable impact.
Green Our Planet didn’t need more tools, they already had them.
What they needed was a way to align those tools with a specific goal, timeline, and outcome.
By applying Business Design principles, MBD helped transform an unused grant into a coordinated outreach system, turning opportunity into progress.
Why This Case Study Matters
This project demonstrates how Business Design unlocks the full value of nonprofit resources:
When tools, messaging, and process are aligned, even tight timelines become achievable.
For mission-driven organizations operating under grant constraints, that alignment can be the difference between unused potential and real-world impact.
